Dr. Isabelle Lanser, PhD

I am a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles with expertise in depression, stress and burnout, eating disorders, and postpartum mental health. I specialize in working with people who feel emotionally numb, disconnected, and unfulfilled. My approach enhances traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) by integrating Positive Affect Treatment, a research-backed therapy that focuses not only on reducing depression and anxiety, but also on actively rebuilding the capacity to experience interest, pleasure, and purpose. My work focuses on helping clients take meaningful risks beyond what once felt possible, balancing thoughtful exploration of the past with a clear sense of hope for the future. In addition to individual therapy, I provide couples therapy and ADHD assessment services in our practice.

 I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Throughout graduate school, I trained extensively in CBT, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and psychodynamic therapy at the UCLA Psychology Clinic and the UCLA Screening and Treatment for Anxiety & Depression (STAND) Clinic. I completed my APA-accredited predoctoral internship at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services where I specialized in short-term, evidence-based treatments for students with unipolar and bipolar depression, anxiety, eating disorders, grief/loss, cannabis use disorder, and traumatic disorders. I completed my postdoctoral training at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center with Dr. Michelle Craske and worked as a clinician under the supervision of Dr. Danielle Keenan-Miller to further develop my expertise in treating eating disorders and unipolar and bipolar depression. Through my work on the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge Perinatal Depression research study, I developed an expertise in reproductive mental health and perinatal and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.

I am a firm believer in integrating the latest advances in research throughout my clinical practice and have published academic articles related to the impact of cannabis use on mood disorders, mindfulness-based approaches to stress and depression, prosocial strategies to target loneliness, and reducing medical trauma in mental health treatment.